Islanders agree to terms with Czarnik

Photo: Jon Hayt

The New York Islanders announced today that free-agent forward Austin Czarnik and returning defenseman Grant Hutton have agreed to terms on two-year contracts.

Czarnik played 32 games for the AHL’s Stockton Heat in 2019-20 and recorded 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points, tied for fourth on the team in scoring. He added two goals and one assist in eight games with the NHL’s Calgary Flames.

Czarnik has skated in 189 career AHL games with Stockton and Providence, collecting 67 goals and 121 assists for 188 points. He was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2015-16 and was a Second Team AHL All-Star in 2017-18, when he finished third in the league in scoring.

Undrafted out of Miami University, Czarnik has played 121 games in the NHL with Calgary and Boston, tallying 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points.

Hutton, 25, originally signed as a free agent with the Islanders on Mar. 21, 2019, and appeared in 55 AHL games as a rookie with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers last season, notching six goals and 15 assists for 21 points.